Quick-acting closure for openings in ships&#39; bulkheads, decks, and walls



A. s. WIEDERMAN QUICK-ACTING CLOSURE FOR OPENINGS IN SHIPS April 26, 1949. 2,468,251

BULKHEADS, DECKS, AND WALLS Flled May 19 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 l N V E NTOR ARTHUR 5. WIEDEAMAAI,

'MATTORNEY.

April 1949- A. s. WIEDERMAN' 2,468,251

QUICK-ACTING CLOSURE FOR OPENINGS IN SHIPS BULKHEADS, DECKS, AND WALLS I Filed May 19, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 2/ 79/ 42 |NVENTOR1 Y N 45 AKTHIIRS Mmmmm BY WA/Wifi"! HQ'ATTORNEY.

April 26, 1949. A. s. WIEDERMAN 2,468,251

' QUICK-ACTING CLOSURE FOR OPENINGS IN SHIPS BULKHEADS, DECKS, AND WALLS Filed May 19, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 v 8 M7 i244. f i i #6 l l INVENTORY I ARTHURSZW/MMMAN,

' WWW,

. MATTORNEY April 26, 1949.

Filed May 19, 1944 A. s. WIEDERMAN QUICK-ACTING CLOSURE FOR OPENINGS IN SHIPS BULKHEADS, DECKS, AND WALLS 5 Sneets-Sheet 4 mvewmn ARTHUR 5. W/mmM/w av ATTORNEY p 1949. A. s. WIEDERMAN QUICK-ACTING CLOSURE FOR OPENINGS IN SHIPS BULKHEADS, DECKS, AND WALLS I Filed May 19, 1944 Y 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 l NVENTOR ARTHUR 5. W/[MRM/W, BY

Patented Apr. 26, 1949 QUICK-ACTING CLOSURE FOR OPENINGS IN SHIPS BULKHEADS, DECKS, AND WALLS Arthur S. Wiederman, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Rose Wiederman, Brooklyn, N. Y

Application May 19, 1944, Serial No. 536,244

3 Claims.

This invention relates to water-tight or gastight closures for openings in ships bulkheads, decks and also walls. It has for its principal objects the provision of a closure of that character which is of simple, compact and economical construction and which is equipped with sturdy locking mechanism that is quick-acting and convenient as well as easy to manipulate, besides being substantially free from external projections which tend, in the case of a bulkhead door for example, to obstruct an adjacent corridor or passage way or be otherwise objectionable. Furthermore, such locking mechanism is so disposed that not only is the same substantially entirely concealed within or behind the closure and its frame when the former is shut tight against the latter but the main panel of the closure constitutes an effective seal and no portion of the locking mechanism projects beyond the same. Other objects of the invention will hereinafter appear.

It has been heretofore proposed, as set forth for example in U. S. Patents No. 2,197,824, of April 23, 1940; No. 1,416,308, of May 16, 1922; and No. 2,278,318, of March 31, 1942, to provide water-tight closures with quick-acting locking mechanism and accordingly the same is not claimed broadly herein, the claims being confined to the novel features of my improved closure which impart thereto some or all of the various advantages possessed thereby as herein set forth.

My invention is fully set forth in the following detailed description and drawings forming a part thereof, in which latter,

Figure 1 is an elevation, partially cut away, of a water-tight bulkheaddoor of a ship, the same embodying a preferred form of the invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged detailed section, taken onthe line 2--2 of Figure 1,; and Figure 2 is a similar view showing a modification wherein the door frame is offset in order to economize in space;

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail section, taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, showing the locking mechanism in a closed position; and Figure 4 is a similar view, except that the locking mechanism is shown in an open position;

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail transverse section, taken on the line 55 of Figure 6;

Figure 6 is an enlarged detail longitudinal section taken on the line 6--6 of Figure 1;

Figure 7 is a longitudinal section, taken on the line 'l-| of Figure 6, the sealing gasket being omitted for better illustration;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary detail section showing the manner in which the operating handle is mounted on the shaft of the locking mechanism whereby an air-tight joint is provided therebetween;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary detail section showing a still further modification of the locking mechanism;

Figure 10 is an enlarged, fragmentary elevation of an adjusting screw element, such as shown in Figure 9, which may be employed in the looking mechanism of my improved door;

Figure 1 is anelevation, generally similar to Figure 1, wherein one of the operating handles is positioned substantially centrally of the door panel and the other in close proximity thereto;

Figure 12 is a transverse section taken on the line l2l2 of Figure 11; and

Figure 12 is a similar view but showing a modification wherein the door frame is offset to bring the same flush with the door panel;

Figure 13 is a fragmentary detail vertical section of the door hinge, taken on the line l3-l3 of Figure 11; and Figure 13 is a similar view taken on the lines I3*'-l3 of Figure 12 Figure 14 is an enlarged longitudinal elevation showing the latch for the operating handles;

Figure 15 is a fragmentary transverse section showing a modification of the mounting of the shaft of the locking mechanism;

Figure 16 is a view generally similar to Figure 6 but showing a modification of the locking mechanism;

Figure 17 is a transverse section taken taken on the line l'l-l'l of Figure 16; and

Figure 18 is a view generally similar to Figure 16 but showing a still further modification.

Referring to the drawings and the construction disclosed therein, the reference numeral I designates a water-tight bulkhead door, the same having a main unpierced closure panel 2 of generally elliptical configuration and a continuous marginal flange 3 that is integral therewith. The door is mounted on hinges 4 carried by the door frame 5 and the latter has a terminal flange 6 and a continuous channel member 1 formed thereon for the reception of a continuous sealing gasket 9 which is snugly fitted therein.

A shaft i0 is journalled at one end in a bearing block I I mounted on the flange 3 and at its other end in a nut l2 which is threaded thereon and welded on the outer face of said flange 3. The portion l3 of the shaft is 'of reduced section to admit of the reception of a, compressible sealing gasket l4 thereon. Beyond such reduced portion, the shaft is of similar cross section to the portion on which the nut I2 is mounted and is threaded to receive a second nut l5 which has a terminal recess l5 to admit of the projection thereinto of the outer end of said gasket. A set screw l6 serves to lock said latter nut in any desired adjusted position on said shaft.

A handle member I! is fixed on one end of said shaft and a second handle member I1 is mounted on the same shaft intermediate the lateral margins of the door I. The, handle I? has a sleeve I 8 slidably mounted thereon, the same having marginal recesses I8 adapted to receive the shank of a locking thumb-screw l9. Said sleeve carries a T-shaped hook that is adapted to be projected through eyes a of apertured lugs 2| and 2| carried by said flange 3 to thereby maintain the shaft vertically in either a locked or unlocked position. As is evident, the thumb-screw 19 is tightened after the hook ele- .ment has been projected through a co-operating eye a as a result of the manual longitudinal adjustment of the position of the sleeve E8 on the handle member l1.

Two pairs of opposing slotted lugs 25, are carried by said shaft adjacent the ends thereof, the same being either welded or otherwise fixed thereon. Two pairs of oppositely extending link members 26 and 26' are respectively mounted in the slots of said lugs, the same being pivotally connected thereto by pins 21 Said links at their opposite ends are respectively mounted in terminal slots 28 of thrust rods 29, being pivotally connected thereto by pins 30. These rods, pro- J'ect through circular apertures 2) formed in guide plates 31 that are weldedor otherwise fixed to the inner face of the flange 3 and panel 2. Each rod is desirably slightly offset adjacent its end and is adapted, when the thrust rod is in its extreme outermost position, to project through an aperture c in a second guide plate 32 that is also welded or otherwise secured to the inner face of said flange 3 and the door panel.

Each thrust rod has a pair of dogs 35 and 36, welded or otherwise fixed thereto, the dog 35 being positioned adjacent the rear end of the thrust rod and the other dog adjacent the outer end thereof. Each of the dogs is of a suitable configuration to engage the outer end of a set screw 31 having a jam nut 31" and which screw is obliquely mounted in a keeper or support platen 38 that is welded or otherwise fixed to the inner face of the flange 6 and to the adja cent face of the channel member I, the same bridging the gap therebetween.

In the modification illustrated in Figures 9 and 10, the thrust rods are formed in a plurality of sections 40, 40 and 40 interconnected by shouldered couplings 4!, thereby admitting of the longitudinal adjustment of the thrust rods whereby intimate engagement between the dogs carried thereon and their respective keepers is not only always insured but also such dogs can be caused to so engage their respective keepers successively, rather than simultaneously, with the consequence that the amount of pressure required to effect locking engagement therebetween is substantially reduced or lessened.

In Figure 11 as well as in Figures 12 and 12 the handle member 42 is mounted centrally of the door panel 43 so as to lie wholly within the channel 44 of the panel when moved into a vertical position, namely when the locking mechanism is either locked or unlocked. The second handle member 42 is mounted behind the door panel and to one side of such channel.

In Figures 2 and 12 the door frame 45 is ofiset to not only reinforce the same but also for the purpose of economizing in space.

In Figures 16 and 17, the keeper element which cooperates with. the dog element constitutes a roller 5! that is rotatably mounted on a pin 5| whereas in Figure 18 the inner-face of the dog 52 is of angular configuration along the upper portion of, its. inner face, as indicated by the reference numeral 53, and as a consequence is adapted to snugly engage a fiat keeper member 54' having a beveled edge 55.

In Figure 15 is illustrated a modified form of stufiing box for the shaft of the locking mechanism, the same comprising an outer sleeve 6! which projects through the flange 44 of the door panel and is welded thereto. Bushings 52 and 62" are oppositely disposed with respect to a cylindrical layer of fibrous lubricated packing material 63. An apertured terminal cap 64 which is threaded on the end, of said sleeve is adaptedto engage a washer 6,5 and maintain the same in continual pressure engagement with the outer end: of the bushing 51:", thereby maintaining said packing in intimate contact with said shaft and hermetically sealing the joints between the shaft and bushings and between the latter and the. sleeve lit.

The manner of operation of my improved closure illustrated in; Fi ure 1, as l e a ent from the foregoing description, as follows:

When it is desired to seal the bulkhead opening, the thumb-screw i9 is unscrewed to release the sleeve is and thelatter is manually moved a sufficient distance upwardly along the operating arm IT to disengage the hook 20 from its co-operating lug. Thereu-pon the said handle is turned anti-clockwise to effect rotation of the shaft lit in the direction indicated. by the arrow in Figure 3 and such rotation is continued until the thrust rods 29 assume the positions shown in Figures 1 and '3 at which time, owing to the fact that the pins 21 will have passed a dead center, i. e. beyond the lines. corresponding to extensions of the longitudinal axes of the thrust rods 29, the dogs 35 and 36. will have receded slightly from the extreme forward positions thereof and as a consequence of such movements any tendency for the dogs to rattle or become disengaged from. their. associated set screws 31, due to vibrations imparted. thereto by the ships propeller or otherwise, will be substantially prevented or at least minimized. Theengagement of the cam-like inner faces of the dogs 35 and 36 with their associatedset screws carried by the keepers 38 causes the marginal edge of the panel flange 3 to effect intimate engagement with the gasket 9 and thereby insures the hermetic sealing of the joint between the closure I and the frame 5; When such joint has been so sealed, the sleeve I8 is manually moved along the arm I! in such a manner as to admit the hook member 20 to assume the position shown in Figure l and the thumb-screw I9 is screwed home, thereby effectively holding the locking mecha nism in the locked position shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 2, the-pintles d of the hinges project through slots e in the hinge leaves and thereby sufficient inward movement of the door panel I is permitted to insure the aforesaid intimate sealingengagement' of the peripheral edge of the flang 3 withthe gaskets.

In order to open the bulkhead door, the thumbscrew I9 is unscrewedsufficiently to admit of the movement of the sleeve l8 longitudinally of the arm I! and the consequent disengagement of the hook 20 and the associated lug 2!. The handle I I is then manually turned clockwise, as indicated by the arrow in Figure 4, therebywithdrawing the dogs 35 and 36 from engagement with their respective keepers 38 and permitting of the unhindered opening of the closure member I. Following the opening of the door, the sleeve I8 is then manually moved alongthe handle I! until the hook 20 engages the eye a in the lowering 2| and. the thumb-screw is then again screwed home to maintain the sleeve in such adjusted or locked position.

The operation of the mechanism shown in Figs. 9 and 10 is generally similar to that just described except that the couplings 4| may, if desired, be adjusted so that the dogs carried. by the sectional thrust rods 40, 40 40 will successively engage their respective keepers 38 or the modified forms of keeper elements illustrated in Figs. 16 and 18 should same be employed. In the construction shown in Fig. 9, the locking sleeve element as well as the associated hook and co-operating apertured lug illustrated in Fig. 1 have been omitted for clearness of illustration but preferably the same is also employed in both forms of the forms of locking mechanism illustrated in these two views.

The continuous marginal flanges 3 and 6 are of similar configuration, the latter being enveloped by the former when the door panel is closed. The locking mechanism which, with the exception of the operating handles and the contiguous portions of the main shaft, is concealed from observation from either side of the panel is not susceptible to being dis-alined and rendered inoperative should the door panel be struck by cargo when the same is being either intentionally or accidentally shifted as in stormy weather, for example, and in this respect is quite different from locking mechanism in common use wherein centrally disposed hand wheels are mounted on a central stud shaft which projects through the panel and such wheels are connected by gearing or radiating linkage to the various dog elements. Furthermore, owing to the fact that the locking mechanism is located marginally of the door, the operation of the actuating dogs in my improved closure construction is necessarily more direct and requires less pressure than in those constructions wherein the mechanism is operated by a centrally disposed hand wheel and co-operating gearing or radiating linkage.

Since the door panel in my closure construction is unobstructed by underlying linkage or gears and carries no hand wheels whatsoever, the same may, if desired be equipped with supplemental escape or scuttle openings of a size, for example, as indicated by the diagrams f and f in Figs. 1 and 11 and which openings may be sealed by almost any type of closure since obviously they are not required to be of a quick-acting character. Moreover, because the door panel in my construction of closure is unpierced and especially sturdy as contrasted with thin or light gauge cover plates often used in prior constructions in an effort to conceal the locking mechanism, it is ideally adapted to withstand heavy blows from either side thereof and to effectually shield the concealed mechanism from the effects of any such blows.

"In'th form of roller keeper and camming dog construction shown in Fig. 16 and Fig. 17, the co-operating camming actionthereof serve to effect a quick application of the pressure applied to the crank arms or operating handles and to effectively compress the marginal gasket as a result of .such action even though the door panel has been but lightly closed against the gasket without any especial exertion by the operative whereas in the ordinary quick-acting closure for bulkheads considerable pressure must be manually applied to the door panel in order to cause the marginal dogs of the mechanism to effectively and properly engage their co-operatingkeepers.

Various changes in the hereindescribed closure construction may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention as embraced within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is: a a

1. In a quick-acting closure for securing a bulk-head door, hatch or like closure to its frame, the combination of a closure of the character specified having a longitudinal channel disposed intermediate the opposite sides thereof, a flange member carried by and extending completely around the margin of such closure, an apertured frame member to which such closure is pivotally connected and which extends marginally thereof, said frame member being rigidly mounted independently of such closure, a main shaft carried by such closure, the same extending through the sides thereof and across said channel and being supported at its opposite ends by said continuous marginal flange on the closure; co-operating means including thrust rods operatively connected to said shaft and. keeper elements carried by said frame for locking said closure in pressure en- 40 gagement with said frame when the closure is closed against the same, said thrust rods and said keeper elements being substantially entirely concealed between the frame and the closure; and a pair of crank arms mounted on said shaft, accessible to operatives stationed on either side of said closure and operatively connected to said shaft, for effecting oscillation thereof, one of them being secured to a portion of the shaft which extends across said channel and the other being disposed to one side of said channel.

2. In a quick-acting mechanism for securing a bulkhead door, hatch or like closure to its frame, the combination with such a closure of a flange member carried by and extending completely around the margin thereof, an apertured frame member to which such closure is pivotally connected and which extends marginally thereof, said frame being rigidly mounted independently of said closure, a main shaft extending across said closure and having its ends journalled in opposite sides of said flange member; cooperating means including thrust rods operatively connected to the shaft and keeper elements carried by said frame for locking said closure in pressure engagement with the frame when the closure is closed against the same, said thrust rods and said keeper elements being substantially entirely concealed between the frame and the closure and said thrust rods being each equipped with a plurality of dog elements having cam-shaped faces adapted to have wedging engagement with the keeper elements when the thrust rods are in an extreme outermost position; and crank arms accessible to operatives stationed on either side of said closure and operatively connected to said shaft for effecting oscillation thereof.

3. In a quick-acting mechanism for securing a bulkhead door, hatch or like closure to its frame, the combination with such a closure of a flange member carried by and extending completely around the margin thereof, an apertured frame member to which such closure is pivotally connected and which extends marginally thereof, said frame being rigidly mounted independent of said closure, a main shaft carried by said closure; co-operating means including sectional, adjustable thrust rods operatively connected to the shaft and keeper elements carried by said frame for locking said closure in pressure engagement with said frame when the closure is closed against the same, said keeper elements being substantially entirely concealed between said frame and the closure, guide members on the marginal flange of said closure which support said thrust rods, crank arms accessible to operatives stationed on either side of said closure and operatively connected to said shaft for effecting oscillation thereof; and latching means for maintaining the 8 crank arms in positions corresponding to either a locked or unlocked position of said thrust rods and keeper elements.

ARTHUR S. WIEDERMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

